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Catholic intellectual action

CD1-57_001

CATHOLIC INTELLECTUAL ACTION
The Catholic Church in America (U.S.) probably surpasses all the other
provinces of the universal Church in its wealth and organization and social
activity. It is strong in numbers, in material resources and in apostolic spirit,
But when it comes to intellectual matters this is not so. American
Catholicism has not made an impression on American thought and culture that we
should have expected, from, its numbers and vigour, I do not much believe in
statistics, but we can't altogether ignore the poor showing the Catholics make-
in any kind of intellectual census - lists of leading American writers md
scientists and thinkers.
Why is this? It is not that Catholics lack schools and colleges or that
they have neglected the importance of education - far from it. They have devoted
more money and more work to education than any other religious body in America.
Yet in spite of that the results have been disappointing. All these universities
and colleges have not yet succeeded in their primary task of building a Catholic
culture in America - far less in giving Catholics the position of intellectual
leadership in America to which their numbers and their spiritual tradition entitles
them. They are the foremost representative in America of Christian education,
the heirs of the great central tradition of Christian culture from which all that
is best and highest in our civilization is derived. But while public opinion
recognizes our numbers and our social importance, as an intellectual force we
are regarded as almost negligible. This is not simply the result of blind prejudice
though we must admit that such prejudice does really exist. Unfortunately, it is
not confined to non-Catholics, since in the past the anti-intellectual prejudice

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This image may be reproduced and used freely for the purposes of private study, scholarship or research without written permission. However, in order to use the digital reproductions for any other reason users must have the express written consent of the Department of Special Collections, University of St. Thomas Libraries, 2115 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105; (651) 962-5467, e-mail: uarchives@stthomas.edu

Transcript

CATHOLIC INTELLECTUAL ACTION
The Catholic Church in America (U.S.) probably surpasses all the other
provinces of the universal Church in its wealth and organization and social
activity. It is strong in numbers, in material resources and in apostolic spirit,
But when it comes to intellectual matters this is not so. American
Catholicism has not made an impression on American thought and culture that we
should have expected, from, its numbers and vigour, I do not much believe in
statistics, but we can't altogether ignore the poor showing the Catholics make-
in any kind of intellectual census - lists of leading American writers md
scientists and thinkers.
Why is this? It is not that Catholics lack schools and colleges or that
they have neglected the importance of education - far from it. They have devoted
more money and more work to education than any other religious body in America.
Yet in spite of that the results have been disappointing. All these universities
and colleges have not yet succeeded in their primary task of building a Catholic
culture in America - far less in giving Catholics the position of intellectual
leadership in America to which their numbers and their spiritual tradition entitles
them. They are the foremost representative in America of Christian education,
the heirs of the great central tradition of Christian culture from which all that
is best and highest in our civilization is derived. But while public opinion
recognizes our numbers and our social importance, as an intellectual force we
are regarded as almost negligible. This is not simply the result of blind prejudice
though we must admit that such prejudice does really exist. Unfortunately, it is
not confined to non-Catholics, since in the past the anti-intellectual prejudice